Published August 13, 2026

In commemoration of 100 years as a professional school of Duke University, Duke Divinity School installed a 6-foot replica of Timothy Schmalz’s sculpture Angels Unawares. The bronze replica depicts an amalgam of figures huddled aboard the deck of a small boat: women, children, elderly, and infirm press tightly together around a central pair of angel wings pointing heavenward. There are also specific refugees, such as a Jew escaping Nazi Germany, a Pole escaping the communist regime, and a Syrian fleeing the civil war.

Edgardo Colón-Emeric headshot

“A centennial is a time not only of looking back but also for leaning forward. We are ready to be led into our future, and we hope this piece is a visual prayer for our next century. It is an image of hope and a call to ministry and care for our world. There are glad tidings to be shared in an age of migration.”
 

Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean of Duke Divinity School

The piece is placed in the entrance of Duke Divinity School, on the upper level of the Westbrook building, where it can be easily viewed by visitors to campus. The location provides ample walking space so viewers can see different aspects of the sculpture from many vantage points.

“A centennial is a time not only of looking back but also for leaning forward,” said Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric, who first encountered the piece in Saint Peter’s Square, where it was installed in 2019 to commemorate the 105th World Day of Migrants & Refugees. “We are ready to be led into our future, and we hope this piece is a visual prayer for our next century. It is an image of hope and a call to ministry and care for our world. There are glad tidings to be shared in an age of migration.”

The sculpture will be on display and available for viewing during standard Westbrook building hours, and it is the final stop in Duke Divinity’s Centennial Art & Architecture tour. The piece will be featured throughout the school’s centennial commemorations in 2026-2027.

Artist Timothy Schmalz sits on the original Angles Unawares in Saint Peter's Square

Sculpture As Prayer

Timothy Schmalz's Angels Unawares

On September 5, 2019, the original piece was installed in Saint Peter's Square to commemorate the 105th World Day of Migrants & Refugees. Still on view today, Schmalz describes his sculptures as "being visual prayers."

Learn More about the Original learn more about the original piece

Installation Photos

On August 12, 2026, a team of Duke Divinity staff and preparators from the Nasher Museum installed the replica in Duke Divinity School's Westbrook building.

bronze sculpture depicting migrants on a boat
woman holding bread, man with forelocks, and pregnant woman with child aboard a boat
Preparators installing bronze sculpture in Duke Divinity School
Preparator installing bronze sculpture in Duke Divinity School